Remus Azoitei (violin), Eduard Stan (piano)

Concert is organized with the help of the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Belarus

and is dedicated to the National Day of Romania

Remus Azoitei, violin

Eduard Stan, piano

J. Brahms - Violin Sonata №2 in A major, op. 100

C. Debussy - Violin Sonata in G minor, L140

C. Saint-Saëns - Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, op.28

G. Enescu - Violin Sonata №3 (“in Romanian Folk Style”), op.25

Acclaimed virtuosos Remus Azoitei and Eduard Stan in the Grand Concert Hall of the Belarussian State Philarmonic - 21st November 2017 at 7p.m.

A recital offered by outstanding Romanian musicians, violinist Remus Azoitei and pianist Eduard Stan, will take place on 21st November at 7 p.m. in the Grand Concert Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic.

The first half of their concert programme represents a mesmerising combination of selected highlights by Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy and Camille Saint-Saëns. Then, during the second half, the Romanian composer and musician George Enescu’s most famous work for the piano and violin, the 3rd Sonata Op. 25 ("in Romanian folk character"), will be performed.

Increasingly in demand on important concert stages, Azoitei and Stan have given recitals at the Wigmore Hall in London, Flagey Hall in Brussels, as well as the Philharmonic Luxemburg, and their engagements have taken them to Carnegie Hall WRH New York, Konzerthaus Berlin, Salle Cortot Paris and Concertgebouw Amsterdam, among others.We are thrilled to have them in Belarus this year with the occasion of Romania's National Day celebrations.

REMUS AZOITEI - violin

Described in The Strad as “an uninhibited virtuoso, with soul and fabulous technique”, the Romanian-born violinist Remus Azoitei has been a featured soloist of prestigious European ensembles including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique and Deutsche Kammer Orchester. He has performed concertos under conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Dimitri Kitaenko, Michael Sanderling, and Gabriel Chmura.

Remus Azoitei’s recent engagements have taken him to venues around the world including Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center in New York, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salle Cortot Paris, Konzerthaus Berlin, St-Martin-in-the-Fields and Wigmore Hall in London, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Konzerthaus Vienna, or Palais de Beaux Arts in Brussels. “Azoitei played with a fluid melodic sensibility and sparkling technique” wrote The Washington Post, commenting on his Washington DC debut at the Terrace Theatre of Kennedy Center, in December 2009.

Remus has worked with artists such as cellists David Geringas and Adrian Brendel, violist Gerard Caussé, or Schubert Ensemble, with whom he recently recorded a CD for Chandos label. In 2005, he performed Bach’s Double concerto with Nigel Kennedy, a concert broadcast on 19 Radio and TV stations across Europe and North America, including Arte and Mezzo. After his London Wigmore Hall debut in 2004, the Sunday Express wrote that "he delivered a memorable programme in front of a packed Wigmore Hall, and had the crowd cheering. He is one fine musician."

Over the years, Remus Azoitei has developed a successful artistic partnership with pianist Eduard Stan. Apart from a very large number of performances they have given as a duo, the two artists recorded together the first ever entire repertoire for violin and piano by George Enescu. Launched by Hänssler Classics on 2 CDs in 2007, this award winning collection immediately attracted international acclaim, such as: "Azoitei has all the requirements: marked sensitivity, a sweetness of tone (but not over-succulence) and an impressive emotional and dynamic range..." - The Strad, or "...the refined but vibrant performing style of Remus Azoitei... a distinctive player who combines temperament, mastery of idiom and executive elegance in a very special way" - The Gramophone.

Remus Azoitei studied with Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki and Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School in New York, where he was awarded a scholarship to study for his Master’s Degree. In 2001, Remus was appointed violin professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, at the time becoming the youngest ever violin professor in the history of this institution. He is the founder and the Artistic Director of the Enescu Society in London.

Hailed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for his “eminent sense of tonal timbres and colours”, the Romanian-born pianist Eduard Stan has received international acclaim after emigrating to Germany in 1978 at the age of eleven. He has performed at Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Konzerthaus and Philharmonie in Berlin, Konzerthaus Vienna, Salle Cortot Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Luxemburg Philharmonie, and many other prestigious venues. Reviewing his London Wigmore Hall debut, Classical Source praised his “pianism which was at its most commanding.”

The last two years have also seen Eduard Stan with solo recitals at the Julitafestivalen in Sweden, within the cultural programme of the Umea European Capital of Culture, as well as in chamber music projects at the Playfair Library Hall in Edinburgh, the Auditorio San Fedele in Milan, the Queen's Hall in Copenhagen or the Festival Ceresio Estate in Lugano. After his debuts with the Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Radio Orchestra in Bucharest, he will be performing again with some of Romania's leading orchestras in 2016. In former years, he has appeared in solo recitals at the Palacio Fóz in Lisbon, the Casa da Música in Oporto, within the Warsaw Chopin Series and at the Royal Piano Festival in Cracow, to name a few. An extensive solo tour brought him for the first time to Israel, with performances in Jerusalem and Haifa.

Eduard Stan has performed under the baton of conductors such as Cristian Mandeal, Christian Badea, Jin Wang, Lutz Köhler and Shinya Ozaki, among others. A sought after chamber musician “revealing a fine gift of restraint and an instinctive feel for balance” (The Strad), his collaborations include violinist Nina Karmon, cellist Romain Garioud, clarinettist Johannes Peitz, as well as the string quartets Voces, Ad Libitum and ConTempo. He has a particular affinity for Lied, his most recent CD with baritone Peter Schöne for the Genuin label being launched in 2012.

Together with violinist Remus Azoitei, he recorded the complete works for violin and piano by George Enescu, an authoritative world premiere project. Released by Hänssler Classic on 2 CDs in 2007/08, this collection is part of a series of critically acclaimed solo CDs recorded by Eduard for the same label, with a repertoire ranging from Bach to Debussy. In 2010, he recorded a Chopin CD for the Thorofon label, Eduard Stan being described as “a fine intellectual performer, with a reflecting but also well justified musical interpretation, at times reminding of the best moments of a great musician such as Wilhelm Kempff." (Victor Eskenazy)

A student of Arie Vardi, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Martin Dörrie, Eduard Stan graduated from the Academy of Music and Drama in Hanover, where he obtained his Master’s Degree. Over the years, Herbert Blomstedt, Matthias Goerne, Karl Engel, Boris Berman and Paul Badura-Skoda have taken a keen interest in nurturing his talent as a versatile musician.